If I were asked what the one exercise you should do every day is, I would vote for the Abdominal Plank. Why? We use our legs daily to walk around and arms do a fair amount of lifting and carrying. The abdominals however, tend to lie dormant under clothes for most, if not the entire year. We tend to rationalize not using them since no one sees them.

Aside from preventing or alleviating back pain and improving posture, having a proper functioning core can prevent incontinence and flatten your lower abdominals, helping you to feel more confident and sexy!

WHY PLANK?

It is a great shoulder stability exercise that gives you great arm tone

It is simple and does not require any space or equipment.

The Plank forces you to use your abdominals to hold your own body weight. If you don’t like how much you have to hold up in a plank, it can be a great motivation towards dropping a few pounds

Your Challenge Should You Choose to Accept: Do 1 Plank a day for 7 Days Straight

A few things to help you with consistency and success:

1. Pick one time of day to do a plank and associate it with a routine activity. For example; do it right after you brush your teeth or before you get in the shower.

2. Put a chart on the fridge and reward yourself with stickers, stamps, hand drawn stars. Visual feedback of your progress can be very motivating and empowering. You can let your children get in on the fun of adding the stickers too! Yay Mommy!

Note: if you have recently had a baby or have done no abdominal exercise in a very long time, start your plank on your knees instead of feet. Work up to doing the plank on your feet for as long as possible.

You should never feel the plank in your back, if you do, drop to your knees and gently tuck your tailbone under.

Dawn Joseph is a certified personal trainer and owner of the Right Fit Fitness in Vancouver. She is a mom-on-the-run with a passion for working with people. Her newest launch is SUP Bootcamp Vancouver www.SUPBootcampVancouver.com